A few different takes....
Quarterback
Zwick looked calm and composed, threw the ball well, ran well too, and made good decisions, with one glaring exception - the ill-advised interception on an apparently broken play. JZ should have earned the start for next week, at least, but Smith will add another dimension to this offense.
Boeckman is a competent back-up who could be something special in a couple of year. He showed great poise when he stepped up in the pocket and hit Ginn almost in stride for the TD. It's good to know that our number three QB could start on many D-I teams.
Running Back
Definitely an improvement over last year. Despite his size, Pittman is quite effective between the tackles, but he lacks the speed to hit the corner and the moves to be an effective open field runner; his vision is decent, but not great. He reminds me a bit of Pepe Pearson, competent but not special.
Schnittker is strictly a short yardage guy. Wells showed a great burst of speed on the designed cut back near the goal line; otherwise, his carries were strictly mop up duty in garbage time behind the second string line. Get Wells into the open and he should be interesting.
Receiver
News flash - Ginn and Holmes are great! Gonzalez was okay, with a few catches; they didn't use his speed at all. Roy Hall had 5 grabs for 23 yards - the guy who was supposed to be the next David Boston plays like he is 5' 10", 180 lbs; I have never seen a receiver with such great size go down so easily on first contact. Maybe Lyons and Robiskie should see more action. TE was virtually non-existent in the spread, but Hamby had a nice read and catch as the "hot" receiver on a blitz.
Offensive Line
All in all, the unit played well, but there is still no anchor. Swithcing Sims to guard was the right move, but Datish isn't really a left tackle - he got beat pretty bad on a few speed rushes. Barton also got beat for a sack. In the not too distant future, look for Datish to go back to being the roving replacement, and for Boone or possibly Rehring to be the starting LT. Zwick had plenty of time in the pocket and received little pressure, and the holes were adequate in the running game, especially in the middle of the line. They'll probably need to take their games up a notch against Texas, but it was a good start.
Defensive Line
A big question mark going into the game, and still a big question mark going out. Basically, no pressure on the QB from the line, except once from Kudla who showed LB speed on his sack. Of the other sacks, three (Carpenter, Whitner, and Schlegel) were strictly blitz sacks where the blocking scheme broke down; Hawk's was a coverage sack. More distressing, the line couldn't seem to close down the middle and shut down Miami's inside running game. The low rushing total benefitted from the five sacks. No one stood out on the DL.
Linebackers
During the pre-season, many people picked this bunch to be the best LB corps in the country, and for good reason. Hawk played like an All American, and Carpenter set the tone early with his monster sack. Schlegel was solid and had a sack and TFL, Hoobler looked very good in limited action. No problems here.
Defensive Backs
Except for the roughing call (which should have been a five yarder), Whitner played an outstanding game - a pick, a sack, a TD, and all over the field. Salley had some big hits and broke up a pass, and most importantly played within himself. Youbouty made a near INT on a great play, and was generally around the ball. Everett was pretty much invisible, which is usually a good thing for a CB. Mitchell had some quality time as a nickel back. A team like Miami will complete a few short passes, but the backs kept everything in front of them and did a good job of tackling. Along with the LB's, another real strength of the team.
Special Teams
So far so good. Huston was perfect on 2 short FG and 4 XP; 4 of 7 KO's were in the end zone, and the others were high kicks that were not returned past the 20. Excellent effort for a kid with very big shoes to fill.
Overall Offense
Good rhythm, good poise (only one penalty), balanced attack, aggressive without relying on the big play. I expect that we'll see the offense take some more chances next week (slants to Ginn, flies to Holmes and Gonzalez, some more reverses).
Overall Defense
Very aggressive, much more so than last year. They relied on the blitz, which worked, but the DL needs to step up and provide more pressure. The back 7 (or 8 in the nickel package) is outstanding.
Overall
I didn't see anything that makes me think that they will beat Texas, but then again I didn't see anything that makes me think that they can't. SHould be a great game. Bring on the 'Horns!
